Macquarie Private Wealth head moved aside

Macquarie Private Wealth head Eric Schimpf will move to a new role just days after the business was strongly criticised by ASIC chairman Greg Medcraft last week for a poor compliance culture.
Photo: Jim Rice

Bill Marynissen, currently head of futures in Macquarie Group’s fixed income, currencies and commodities (FICC) division and the group’s integrity officer, has been appointed the new global head of Macquarie Private Wealth, effective immediately.

Staff were told of the change in an internal email from deputy chief executive Greg Ward on Friday.

The move has prompted internal speculation that there may be further management changes.

Mr Schimpf, an American who joined Macquarie from Merrill Lynch in 2010, brought in a number of long-time associates including private bank head Jay O’Neil.

Mr Ward said in the email that Mr Schimpf would remain at Macquarie and “drive a number of key initiatives including Macquarie’s investment in OzForex".

OzForex, an online foreign exchange provider part-owned by Macquarie, The Carlyle Group and US venture capital firm Accel Partners, is considering a trade sale.

Company Profile

In a year-long investigation into Macquarie Private Wealth, ASIC uncovered a range of “serious" compliance deficiencies involving a “significant" number of its advisers.

The shortcomings included repeated failure to keep records of client advice and the basis of that advice, and not retaining evidence that clients were sophisticated investors capable of understanding complex financial advice.

The shortcomings were first detected by Macquarie in 2008, before Mr Schimpf joined the company.

ASIC found the compliance failures continued for several years and that Macquarie’s efforts to address the issues were of limited effectiveness.

The business agreed to an enforceable undertaking, including an independent review of its compliance systems.

Mr Marynissen joined Macquarie in 1982. He has worked on its popular cash management trust, in FICC and was appointed head of futures in 1995.

“He oversaw the global expansion of the division and he has worked in partnership with MPW to create the largest retail futures trading business in the Australian market," Mr Ward said in the email.